Muhyiddin: Govt must use more flexible mechanism in discharging bankrupts

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has urged the government to use a more flexible mechanism to discharge individuals who have been declared bankrupt.

He said individuals who have been declared bankrupt are actually serving a punishment and if they have shown good behaviour their clearance should be expedited.

“A bankruptcy status is a form of punishment, it is not a repayment scheme. So when the bankrupt individual has gone through the punishment for a period of time and is in line with good behaviour, the discharge from bankruptcy status should be expedited or eased without looking at the original amount that was filed.

“I urge the government to use a more flexible method to discharge an individual from his or her bankruptcy status so that they can return to their normal lives and rebuild their lives without being burdened by the discharge process that takes a very long time,” Muhyiddin said in his speech during the debate on the amendment Bill for the Insolvency Act 1967, today.

At the same time, the Bersatu Pagoh MP highlighted issues that consumers could face with the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) scheme, citing higher debts occurring in households.

“BNPL could be considered as having higher interest rate charges compared to credit card interest rates.

“BNPL could worsen the household debt if there is no intervention from the government,” he added.

In February, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government will set up an oversight board and enact the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) to monitor BNPL credit services.

The BNPL scheme provides users with the convenience of instalment payments at a zero interest rate over a fixed period.

The amendment to the Insolvency Act, if passed will allow two more categories of bankrupt individuals to qualify through the issuance of the director-general of insolvency’s certificate of discharge without going through debtors’ objections, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman said when tabling the Bill for its first reading in Parliament yesterday.

She also reportedly said that the amendment is in line with the government’s intention to preserve the welfare of bankrupt individuals.